💰The Deal Guy Newsletter - Issue #69

🧾 INSIDE THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER:

**These deals could end or sell out at ANY time. If you buy something through any of the links featured in this newsletter I may get a small share of the sale.

🎟️ $50 Disneyland Tickets! This rare offer for children ages 3–9 is available for one day or two and three day tickets for summer 2026!

A typical child ticket usually costs $120 - $170 per day depending on the date, so this deal can save roughly $70 to $100 per child per day, or $200+ per kid on a 3-day trip which is substantial!

🍿 4 Free Popcorn Bags at Dollar Tree: This is one of my favorite freebies of the week provided you like “Like Air Popcorn” and don’t mind waiting for a rebate.

You pay upfront and get reimbursed, which makes this a true freebie if you follow the submission steps correctly.

🪑 $25 OFF $150 at IKEA: With many of you considering furniture purchases right now (based on all the requests I received last week), if you use the code “WINTERWEEKEND” online or in store you can take advantage of this promo, but only until this Wednesday January 28 and you must be an IKEA Family Member (Free to join).

🥪 Subway Middle Seat Gift Card Promo: If you have ever been stuck in the dreaded middle seat, this promo might speak to your soul.

Tomorrow (January 27th), 737 passengers assigned a middle seat on flights departing that day can turn that bad seat into a win by taking a selfie and uploading it to SubwayMiddleSeat.com to receive a $20 Subway gift card (Promotion valid for any passenger 18 and older).

💊 Amazon Pharmacy $25 Gift Card: Amazon Pharmacy is offering a $25 health and wellness gift card when you place your first prescription order by January 31.

This deal is for new pharmacy customers only and the credit is limited to eligible health and wellness items.

💰 NEW AMAZON CREDITS: Here are two brand new opportunities to get some cash back while shopping on Amazon this holiday season:

Here are some recent subscriber submitted money-saving tips:

Paul from NJ writes: “I joined both Costco and Sam’s Club after running the numbers. Costco wins for food quality, travel perks, and the return policy. Sam’s wins for online pricing, faster shipping, and curbside pickup. Between gas savings alone, both memberships paid for themselves within a few month”

Jeff writes: (in response to email subscriber Pat’s mattress buying “share your savings tip” last week) “I'd like to add to Pat's excellent suggestion about mattress buying. I was in the mattress business for 40 plus years, both manufacturing as well as retail. Shopping now for mattresses is a good strategy, not just because it may take some time, but you also can check CURRENT pricing against any potential "sale" price when the holiday arrives. Also, let YOUR comfort be the guide; the best mattress in the world won't work for you if you don't like it.

Following the advice I offered to Linda about home-refinancing, Brooke writes: “For the 72 YO (Linda) that asked about refinancing, I strongly suggest a reverse mortgage if the home isn't being left to anyone in the future. Even though my mother wanted to leave the house to us three girls, it was better for her to do a reverse mortgage and be safe in the end.”

Reply to this email and share it with me! If I feature your tip, I’ll give you a shoutout in next week’s newsletter!

(Include your first name + the state you live in so I can add it to the shoutout)

Amazon has launched a new Auto Buy feature in its app that gives you more control over what you pay, with some limits. If you are a Prime member, you can tell Amazon to automatically buy an item when it drops to a price you choose.

For example, if a coffee maker usually costs $120 but you only want to pay $90, Auto Buy places the order the moment it hits that price.

It only works on Fulfilled by Amazon items, uses your saved payment and shipping info, and is managed through Rufus in the Amazon app or Alexa+ voice commands. Auto Buy allows one unit per item, does not support coupons or promo codes, and places the order immediately. You can have up to 200 active requests, and you have 24 hours to cancel after the order is placed.

My Take: this is useful if you are patient and or already know the item you’re after drops in price at specific times of the year. I would only use it for a few planned purchases, not everyday shopping. Set it and forget it too much, and you could spend money without realizing it!

Many of the biggest national retailers have holiday return windows expiring January 31 for products purchased during the holiday season. If you are holding onto gifts or unused items from places like Amazon, Home Depot, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Target, Walmart, this is the week to act before standard return policies snap back.

The one exception is Best Buy where only the My Best Buy Plus and Total members receive extended holiday return windows that run through January 31 for qualifying purchases

Important Note: there are usually strict exceptions specifically for anything made by Apple, premium electronics, speciality items and major appliances.

To get your question answered, simply respond to this email with any money-saving related question and feel free to include your first name so I can address you properly.

💡 Katie Asks: “My beloved Kitchen Aid Epicurean 6qt mixer has finally called it quits, and parts can no longer be sourced to repair it. When do you find that Kitchen Aid mixers typically go on sale? I bake a lot, so the bigger the better in terms of bowl size.”

Katie, I’m very sorry to hear about your Kitchen Aid mixer reaching the end of its life. The larger Kitchen Aid mixers are at their absolute lowest price of the year Prime Day (mid-July), Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Assuming you might not want to wait that long, there’s a slight chance of a modest sale on Presidents Day with something a bit better for Mother’s Day in May.

💡 Ann Asks: “In response to Presidents Day timeframe being best for mattress purchasing. I am curious, I was told by a furniture store employee that mattresses were not initially included in the tariff increases but now they are and will go up further in the future. Do you know if this is the case? Would it be prudent to find a "sale" now rather than wait?”

Hi Ann, while there are some domestically produced mattresses like Helix Midnight and mattress companies like Texas Mattress Makers, there’s a chance mattresses prices might increase overall (which is sometimes just a result of inflation). My advice: don’t live in fear of a substantial increase. There will be reductions on Presidents Day and then if not, the deals on Memorial Day and 4th of July will still be comparable to the sales we would have seen 1-2 years ago.

💡Lakshmi asks: “Love your videos and everything you do. With your response to my last question went ahead and bough an OLED TV for black friday and I already see prices are up by 500$ at least. Thank You. I am looking to buy a laptop this time around and missed Acer Aspire 3 at costco for 380$. Any chance we could see that price again or what is best available laptop under 500$ ?

Great to hear from you again Lakshmi and I’m happy my OLED advice saved you so much cash. On the Acer Aspire 3 deal returning, I do expect something comparable this spring but in the meantime, this HP 15.6” is my favorite laptop $500 or less pick. It has a solid processor, 16GB of RAM, a beautiful touch screen and good storage. It’s $300 OFF for a very limited time at Best Buy.

‼️ BONUS TIP.. More than half the questions I received over the last week surrounded FURNITURE and LARGE APPLIANCE purchases, both of which are fantastic Presidents Day purchases so wait until February 12!

Every week in this section of the newsletter, I share some of the most interesting and helpful money-related articles I’ve read over the past week. I hope you find these as valuable as I did!

💵 “Are snow tires worth the cost in the winter?” - READ HERE.

💵 “Personal finance to-do list broken down month by month” - READ HERE.

💵 “These college degrees face the toughest job markets” - READ HERE.

It’s hard to believe the first month of this new year is wrapping up! Next month brings some huge sales with Presidents Day and some pre-spring savings I’ll be sure to highlight next week! Wishing you all an easier and less frigid week ahead.

Happy Savings!👋

The Deal Guy (Matt Granite)